“Judging from past records, the US has carried out the largest cybertheft operations worldwide,” Zhao said.

He stressed that Beijing has significant achievements of its own in the fight against the pandemic.

China is “also leading the world in Covid-19 vaccine research and treatment”, and therefore has more reason to worry about cyber espionage itself, Zhao said.

He added that the country has cracked down on cyber-hacking, and that any cyber attack hindering the global fight against the pandemic should be condemned by people around the world.

Responding to US President Donald Trump’s reference to Covid-19 as the “Plague from China”, Zhao said the US should stop blaming and discrediting others, and focus on their own prevention and control work.

The virus first emerged in the central Chinese city of Wuhan late last year.